Aachen is a small but ancient city in the heart of Europe at the border triangle of Germany – Netherlands – Belgium. Especially Charlemagne has historically shaped Aachen. In 796, Aachen Cathedral[1] was built on his orders, in which over 30 kings and twelve queens were crowned until 1531. Aachen established itself as one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the Middle Ages, mainly due to the shrine of Charlemagne and Mary, and even today the relics are displayed every seven years.

Aachen City Hall [2], built on the foundations of Charlemagne’s Hall of Kings, also looks back on a long history. The Banquet of the IV 2022 will take place in the Coronation Hall, which has a great European significance in the Middle Ages due to the coronation banquets and until today due to the International Charlemagne Prize.

In addition to the cathedral, the old town and the traditional cafés, Aachen is also characterized by the approximately 60,000 students who study at a total of four universities: one of them is RWTH Aachen University [3]. With over 47,000 students and 550 professors, it is the largest technical university in Germany. RWTH’s research topics are extremely diverse and include synthetic fuels, computer science, high-performance materials, health, renewable resources and mobility.

The mobility of tomorrow is being shaped by the staff of the Institute for Automotive Engineering [4] – from the idea to innovative component and system concepts to vehicle prototypes. One of the ika’s steadily growing research areas is automated driving and vehicle intelligence. We are therefore particularly pleased to host IEEE IV in 2022 and to invite many international experts from universities, industry and government agencies to Aachen to exchange and discuss the latest developments related to intelligent vehicles.